Mexican style shredded beef in the slow cooker

March 6, 2025 by Dagny @ break thy bread 144 Comments

a big oval tray of shredded beef sprinkled with fresh cilantro. in the background 5 small bowls with different toppings. 3 black and 2 white bowls with golden rim.

As with any slow cooker meal, you can prep it all the night before – place in the fridge – and only start the slow cooker in the morning before you go to work. In 8hr you will be coming back to the most amazing smell and flavors.

If you are short in time you can just place all the ingredients in the put, in the fridge, all night long and start the slow cooker in the morning. The longer prep described here will deepen the flavors, but you will get a yummy meal even if you skip it.

Leftover tip from me – since I try not to waste anything in the kitchen, I used the extra delicious fluids to make Mexican flavor pasta for the kids the next day. Can be used for rice too. Just use the fluids to cook the rice or pasta, instead of water/sauce. Also, since I am serving white rice when I cook Mexican, I took all the leftover rice and shredded beef and mixed it together, then used it as a burrito filling together with some shredded Mexican cheese . I arranged all the filled burritos in a pan, wrapped it tightly and froze it. Now they can be used individually – just pop it in your toaster oven and bake till ready or I can pour enchilada sauce on top, spread some more cheese and bake it all as a big enchilada. I hope it will help someone. Well after all that, let’s get started.

Ingredients:

3.5 lb. (1.6kg) beef chuck pot roast at room temperature, washed and dried completely

2 tablespoon olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

Veggies

1 large onion – diced

1 large tomato – diced

6 garlic cloves – finely chopped

Dry seasoning:

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon allspice

2 teaspoon dry oregano

2 teaspoon coriander powder

1 tablespoon paprika

2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1 teaspoon chili flakes – optional (spicy)

1/2 teaspoon chipotle chili powder – optional (spicy)

Salt and pepper to taste.

Fluids:

1 cup beef stock

1 tablespoon tomato paste

To serve – optional

2 tablespoons Fresh cilantro – chopped

Lime wedges to squeeze on top

Instructions:

Pre-chop all the veggies and garlic

Heat a big wide frying pan on high. When hot, add the oil and sear the meat for few minutes on both sides till it get nice brown color. Remove and place in the slow cooker.

Place all the pre chopped veggies and garlic in the same pan – do not wash it in between – we want to use all the beef flavors to sauté the veggies. Keep the pan on high heat and keep sautéing till all the fluids evaporates and the veggies start getting some searing color to it.

While sautéing the veggies, mix all the dry seasoning in a small bowl and rub it on the meat in both sides.

Mix beef stock and tomato paste in a small cup/bowl.

Place the prep veggies on top of the meat and pour the beef stock and tomato paste on top.

Start the slow cooker on high – for 4hr

Or on low – for 8hr

When it is ready keep it on the “warm” option till you are ready to eat.

The meat is ready when you can easily shred it – it is falling apart, it might take a little longer or shorter than 4hr.

Remove the meat from the put and shred with 2 forks. Get rid of all the extra fat and tendons. Strain the rest into a bowl.

Remove 1 cup of the strained fluids in a bowl/high cup and add about 1/3 cup of strained veggies to it. Place the rest of the strained veggies on the shredded meat.

Using a stick blender, puree the veggies with the fluids and pour on the veggies and meat. Mix together. You can keep the remaining fluids to use for cooking something else as suggested above.

Top it with fresh cilantro and serve with all the Mexican musts:

Lime wedges

White rice

Tortilla

Guacamole

Salsa + tortilla chips

Sour cream

Shredded Mexican cheese

Sauté onions and bell peppers

Pico de Gallo

Black beans/refried beans

Tacos